Method of building a garden bed

ABSTRACT

A device for retaining garden beds, retaining water, and/or blocking plant roots, with the device having two connected reinforcing members with a liquid permeable member positioned between the reinforcing members. A method of building a garden bed includes using the device around the perimeter of a bed. A method for building a pond or stream includes using the device around the perimeter of the pond or stream. Finally, a method of blocking root travel includes burying the device to block travel.

This application is a Div of Ser. No. 09/028,149 Feb. 23, 1998, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,108,972.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to apparatus for and methods of bracingsoil, retaining water, and blocking roots. In another aspect, thepresent invention relates to flexible reinforcement member apparatus forand methods of bracing soil, retaining water, and blocking roots. Ineven another aspect, the present invention relates to flexiblereinforced water pervious reinforcement member for and methods ofbracing soil, retaining water, and blocking roots. In still anotheraspect, the present invention relates to a flexible woven waterpermeable material having reinforcement structure on each side for andmethods of bracing soil, retaining water, and blocking roots.

2. Description of the Related Art

Ornamental gardening, as opposed to produce gardening, around aresidence has been a popular activity for hundreds of years. TraditionalEnglish gardening has its roots in the aristocratic gardens of royalhome owners and slowly became practiced on a smaller scale aroundtypical residences.

Perusal of the volume of gardening books and magazines in any bookstorereveals that gardening is indeed very popular in the United States.

Many garden purists believe that a garden is not complete without water.However, providing water in a garden, whether as a pond or runningstream, is a complicated task which presents many problems.

Other inherent gardening problems include maintaining plants and/ortheir roots in a desired section of the garden, and bracing soil aroundthe edges of beds.

There are many prior art patents and articles directed to providingwater in a garden, maintaining plants and/or their roots in a desiredsection of the garden, or bracing soil around the edges of beds.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,436,770, issued Feb. 24, 1948 to Hill, et al, disclosesa garden layout and apparatus for separating the soils and plants in thegarden. The garden includes various beds containing cultivated plants,walkways, and grass borders, all of which are separated by separators.The separators are described as being preferably formed of paper orfiber board of laminated or corrugated construction, saturated,impregnated or coded, with a material such as asphalt that is resistantto water, to acid, to alkalines, plant food, corrosion and the like. Theseparator is described by being prepared by dipping or otherwise coatingor impregnating a laminated or corrugated fiber paper or board ofconventional structure with the asphalt or like material, with thetreated board preferably being of such ductility that it can be formedin strips and rolled for ease in handling, shipping or storage. As amethod of insertion, the separator is inserted in a ditch or otherdepression formed around a garden bed of any desirable shape or size,with the fiber paper or board separator readily being conformed bybending to the desired shape as it is inserted. Alternatively, it isdisclosed that the garden bed may be excavated and the interior of thewall of the bed lined with one or more strips of the separator materialand the bed refilled with a suitable treated earth for the plants togrow therein. It is also disclosed that the separator may be utilized toprevent growing tree roots from encroaching upon the cultivated bed.Finally, it is disclosed that the separator may be adapted for use innurseries and breeders gardens where the roots of each variety of plantmay be separated as to assure that the roots are as true as to variety.Specifically, the roots of a plant or shrubbery enclosed in a ball ofearth and the earth provided with a peripheral covering of theseparator.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,408, issued Apr. 25, 1967 to Fisher, discloses anarticle which will prevent or eliminate soil erosion by providing adisintegratable covering over areas subject to soil erosion which havebeen seated and which will provide a protection against erosion forthese areas until erosion preventing vegetation has germinated beneaththe protective covering. The covering is broadly disclosed as includingall types of inter-engaged or inter-connected filaments, yarns, fibersand the like which will sufficiently cohere as to form a substantiallycontinuous blanket or covering. The material utilized has a controllableor predetermined rate or time for disintegration under various agentsincluding in particular a biochemical reaction caused by enzymaticaction of microorganisms such as soil bacteria, when the covering isplaced on the ground in contact with the soil. Disclosed as a furtheressential feature of the covering is that the protective coveringblanket provided shall include hollow core soluble or disintegratablefilaments, yarns or fibers formed from soluble cellulosic derivativematerial in which are filled with a fluid material selected from thegroup consisting of fertilizers, pesticides and weed killers in whichhave walls rupturable and disintegratable by the biochemical reactioncaused by the micro organisms in the ground when the yarns are placed onthe ground in contact with the soil so as to release at a predeterminedtime the fluids in the yarns with contact of the fluids with the ground.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,439, issued Dec. 20, 1983 to ter Burg, et al,discloses a sporting fabric for bearing bulk material such as sand,gravel, stones, clay, loam, or other bulk material, and a method ofbuilding a road, embankment, a dike, a dam or some other structure formfrom bulk material. The supporting fabric is characterized in that theyarns extending the warp direction of the fabric are formed by straightwarp yarns and binder warp yarns, the straight warp yarns each having ahigher strength than the binder warps yarns, with construction beingsuch that when the fabric is subjected to a tensile load in the warpdirection, the straight warp yarns bear a higher proportion of thetensile load than the binder warp yarns, preferably at least 80% of thetensile load. For the method of stabilizing soil and/or building a roadembankment, a dike, a dam or some other structure formed of bulk orother material, the supporting fabrics are provided with transverseportions. The supporting fabrics are placed horizontally with one ormore layers of the bulk material formed on top of the horizontally linedsupporting fabric. The supporting fabrics may also be placedhorizontally between various horizontal layers of the bulk material. Thetransverse partitions extend perpendicularly away from the supportingfabric and help support the bulk material.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,356, issued Oct. 25, 1994 to Romanek, et al,discloses an erosion control mat formed of a scrim having a light weightweb secured thereto and a method of applying said erosion control mat toa soil surface to control erosion. The grid sides of the scrim should beselected to provide a uniform reinforcing and be large enough to alloweasy plant penetration through the grid, with the maximum grid openingin the range of about {fraction (1/16)} of an inch, with a preferredsize in the range of about ¾ of an inch to about ⅝ of an inch. Thecomposite fabric selected will allow for ready penetration of plants,light, and water through the erosion control mat. Although the scrim andthe lightweight web may be assembled and bonded together by any suitabletechnique known to those of skill in the art, including, but not limitedto chemical, thermal, or mechanical bonding methods, it is presentlypreferred to bond the scrim to the lightweight web by needle punchingthe lightweight web to the scrim. The erosion control mat is suitablefor installation in a great variety of situations where the ground hasbeen disturbed and the soil is subject to erosion including, but notlimited to the replanting of highway road embankments, constructionsites, mining and mining reclamation sites, park areas, and landfills.It is generally preferred to install the erosion control mat on a soilsurface that has been smoothed with readily available equipment such asgraters, tractors with box blades, or other suitable implements. Thesoil surface to be replanted can be seated before or after applying theerosion control mat.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,313, issued Feb. 28, 1995 to Reiger, discloses animproved method of growing nursery stock for transplantation whichbasically comprises forming a plurality of spaced holes in the ground,placing a porous fabric blanket over and into the holes wherebydepressions in the blanket conform with the holes. The porous fabricblanket has sufficient strength to constrict penetrating roots wherebyroot growth below the blanket is restricted and enlarged root noduleformation and root branching are promoted within the depression abovethe blanket. When the plants are ready for transplantation, they arereadily and easily removed from the depressions in the blanket.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,112, issued Nov. 19, 1996 to Scheubel, discloses amethod for controlling growth of plant roots, which consist inpositioning close to the root plants a water permeable, non-woven fabricmade of synthetic fibers coated or otherwise impregnated with a waterinsoluble polymeric binder in which is disbursed a water insolubleinorganic copper compound in an amount effective to stop root growth,the binder being bound to the fabric and thus retaining and refining thecopper compound to the fabric, whereby, in use, the coated fabric stopsthe growth of undesirable rootlets or radicles which come in contactthereto.

“Gardens, Pools and Fountains”, Ortho Books, 1988, discloses severalmethods for installing a garden pool, including use of a flexible liner,or the use of a prefabricated pool. This book teaches that the poolwalls are cut into the soil and should have a slope of about 20°, oreven more if the soil is loose or sandy. The lining is then placed flushagainst the slopping soil. It further teaches that at the edges of thepool, there should be at least 6 inches of the flexible liner showingall around the edges of the pool with this extra liner secured by,digging a shallow trench around the edge of the pool, and placing theextra liner in the trench, and then covering it with soil, stones, orpaving material.

“Water In The Garden”, James Allison, 1991, discloses several methods ofinstalling a pool in a garden including use of pool liners, preformedpools, and concrete pools. While noting that liner ponds are the easiestof the types of ponds to install, and that liners are usually the mosteconomic method of pool construction, it further notes that to theirdisadvantage, liners can be punctured by sharp implements, sharped edgestones and the roots of certain invasive plants, such as bamboo, andthat the shelves around liners may tend to lose their shape with time.This book does suggest that if sharp tipped plant roots are prevalent,that one lay a barrier persistent herbicide under the liner, and toprevent soil slippage that one utilize a mix of fairly stiff concretecontaining fine aggregate, which is worked into the soil to provide alayer that is about 1 to 2 inches thick, around the top edge, on theshelves, and on any steep sides of the pond. This book recommendsconcrete collars for steep sided pools and heavy forms of edging.

“The Pond Doctor”, Helen Nash, 1994, discloses methods of constructing apond in a garden including the use of a preformed pond or a liner. Thisbook discloses the use of hidden liner edging, which it describes as alining of mortared bricks treated for lime, or simple edge constructionwhich it describes as stiff concrete mixed into the soil around the edgeof the pond beneath the pond liner. This book further discloses thatdeterioration of pool edging may occur from moisture in the surroundingsoil that allows the edge to settle, from porous soil composition thatcannot support heavy rocks, or from heavy stone that is used with a deepor straight sided pool, with suggestions made to affect repairsincluding the use of a concrete collar, concrete reinforced soil, orhidden liner construction. It further teaches that unstable capstones inthe liner edge can be embedded in a trench concrete installed a fewinches from the pool edge, with the concrete reinforced with steel meshor rebar.

Conventional soil bracing products which are commercially available tothe recreational gardener are generally made out of either solid metalor plastic. For example, LineUps™ earth retainer beams are availablefrom Serenity Ponds & Streams of Seal Beach, Calif., and the 1997Gardener's Supply Company of Burlington, Vt. offers recycled plasticretainer beams with preformed corner fasteners.

However, many of these commonly available braces suffer from severaldeficiencies. These commercially available solid braces do not allowwater to easily escape out of the bed, resulting in unhealthy plants,bogging soil, and plant root rot. In some instances the added weight ofthe retained water can threaten the soil brace. It is also noted thatconventional soil bracing products are typically available in four tosix inch widths that do not offer elevated bed support. It is even alsonoted that conventional products such as steel edging or thick plasticedging can be heavy, very hard or impossible to bend, and very difficultto adapt to a particular geometric arrangement as needed. It is stillalso noted that many of the conventional bracing products such as steeledging require special expensive metal cutters for onsite fabrication.It is yet also noted that conventionally available steel edging isgenerally heavy and expensive to ship.

Thus, in spite of the advancements in the prior art, there is still anumber of deficiencies in the prior art requiring a need for improvementin methods of and apparatus for providing water in a garden, maintainingplants and/or their roots in a desired section of the garden, andbracing soil around the edges of beds.

There is another need in the art for a garden landscaping soil braceand/or water retaining brace which is long lasting, strong and durable.

There is even another need in the art for a garden landscaping and/orwater retaining brace which allows the flow of water, nutrients andfertilizers in both directions across the brace.

There is still another need in the art for a garden landscape braceand/or water retaining brace which can easily be adaptable to variouswidths and lengths for adaptation to various landscape needs.

There is yet another need in the art for a garden landscape brace and/orwater retaining brace which is flexible to allow the landscaper to adaptthe brace to curves as well as straight lines without any specialfittings that are required by some conventional products.

There is even still another need in the art for a garden landscape braceand/or water retaining brace which is easy to cut and install resultingin decreased installation time, and which does not require specialexpensive metal cutters.

There is even yet another need in the art for a garden landscape braceand/or water retaining brace which is of lighter weight, resulting inreduced shipping charges and lower costs to the ultimate purchaser.

There is still even another need in the art for a garden landscape braceand/or water retaining brace which is less costly than the current allmetal braces.

Finally, there is still yet another need in the art for a gardenlandscape brace and/or water retaining brace which is not too obtrusiveor noticeable when utilized in a garden to provide more of a naturalgarden appearance.

These and other needs in the art will become apparent to those of skillin the art upon review of this specification, including its drawings andclaims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide for improvement inbracing soil around the edges of beds, providing water in a garden, andmaintaining plants and/or their roots in a desired section of thegarden.

It is another object of the present invention to provide for a gardenlandscaping brace and/or water retaining brace which is long lasting,strong, and durable. One embodiment of the brace of the presentinvention is made of either galvanized wire mesh or durable plastic meshboth of which resist rotting or rusting. It is even another object ofthe present invention to provide for a landscape garden brace and/orwater retaining brace which allows the flow of water, nutrients andfertilizers in both directions across the brace. One embodiment of thebrace of the present invention is meshed and allows the flow of water,nutrients, and fertilizers into and out of a garden bed. Because watercan flow out of the bed, there is not the added weight of waterimpinging against the brace, and there is better soil drainage producinghealthier plants and less root suffocation.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide for alandscape garden brace and/or water retaining brace available in variouswidths and lengths for adaptation of various landscape needs. Forcertain selected materials, the brace of the preset invention can beeasily cut and tailored to the job at hand. Furthermore, the brace ofthe present invention is useful in building elevated beds.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide for alandscape soil brace and/or water retaining brace which is flexible andbendable allowing the landscaper to adapt the brace to any type ofcurvilinear shape as well as straight lines without any special fittingsthat are usually required by some convention braces.

It is even still another object of the present invention to provide fora landscape garden brace and/or water retaining brace which isrelatively easy to install resulting in decreased installation time. Oneembodiment of the brace of the present invention is made out of metal orplastic mesh that is easily cut utilizing commercially available cuttersthat are commonly available at any hardware store. One embodiment of thebrace of the present invention can be easily cut along both its widthand its length to suit the job at hand, resulting in an ease ofinstallation and a decrease in installation time as compared toconventional steel edging type products.

It is even yet another object of the present invention to provide for alandscape garden brace and/or water retaining brace that is lightweightand therefore easy to handle during installation, and less expensive toship, than more conventional steel type edging products.

It is still even another object of the present invention to provide alandscape garden brace and/or water retaining brace which is affordablefor use by the recreational gardener or commercial landscaper. The costof the present invention is controlled by utilizing relativelyinexpensive metal or plastic mesh along with an inexpensive weed blockerfabric. Additionally, construction of the present invention is alsorelatively inexpensive. The brace of the present invention will beutilized to replace conventional products such as steel reinforcedcement that is currently being used to edge butyl liner ponds andornamental garden streams.

It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide for alandscape garden brace and/or water retaining brace which is not tooobtrusive or noticeable in such a manner as to produce a natural gardenappearance. The brace of the present invention is intended to blend inwith the landscape and produce a natural garden appearance.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent tothose of skill in the art upon review of this specification, includingits drawings and claims.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provideda gardening apparatus. The apparatus generally includes first and secondreinforcing members, and positioned there between, a liquid permeablemember. The first and second reinforcing members may also be liquidpermeable, and are preferably a grid, mesh or screen made of metal orplastic. The liquid permeable member is preferably a fabric, morepreferably a standard commercially available gardening fabric.

According to another method of the present invention, there is provideda method of building a garden bed. The method generally includespositioning a gardening apparatus, as described above, to form a gardenbed perimeter defining the garden bed. The method further includesanchoring a portion of the garden apparatus with soil in a trench orexcavation. The method finally includes providing soil within the gardenbed.

According to even another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method of building a water retaining member. The methodgenerally includes the step of forming an excavation, that is, in theshape of the desired pond, lake or stream. The method next includespositioning a gardening apparatus as described above, around theperimeter of the excavation. The method also includes anchoring aportion of the retaining apparatus with soil in a trench or excavation.The method finally includes providing water within the excavation.

According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method of blocking plant root travel from a firstsubterranean area to a second subterranean area. The method generallyincludes forming an excavation between the first and second subterraneanareas. The method also includes positioning the above describedgardening apparatus in the excavation. The method finally includes,burying the retaining member with soil.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of soil brace 100 of the present invention,including barrier 110 and reinforcement member 104.

FIG. 2 is a side view of soil brace 100 of FIG. 1, showing barrier 110and reinforcement member 104.

FIG. 3 is a side view of pond 300 consisting of pond excavation 301 ofany desired shape having a pond edge or perimeter 302, soil brace 100 ofthe present invention, and pond retaining wall 305.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Soil Brace

Referring how to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is shown an illustration of andside view of, respectfully, soil brace 100 of the present invention. Inthe embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, soil brace 100 includesbarrier 110 and reinforcement member 104.

In the practice of the present invention, it should be understood thatbarrier 110 may be of any physical structure suitable for the intendedgarden or water application of soil brace 100. For example, it isgenerally desired that barrier 110 be suitable for preventingpenetration by roots and/or vegetation, while still allowing waternutrients and fertilizers to pass through the barrier 110. Such astructure is preferably woven or non-woven.

In the practice of the present invention, any material may be utilizedas the material for barrier 110 provided that the selected material issuitable to withstand long term contact with the soil, and if it is tobe utilized in an agricultural or garden setting, that such barrier 110be suitable to withstand exposure to the various chemicals that areutilized in agricultural or garden settings such as herbicides,insecticides, fertilizers, plant foods, and the like.

It should be understood that while barrier 110 may be comprised of amaterial that is inherently resistant to exposure to such soil and thevarious chemicals, lesser materials may be utilized if such are providedwith a suitable coating or protective layer suitable to protect againstexposure to such soil and chemicals.

While any material meeting the requirements as specified above may beutilized as barrier 110, it is preferred in the practice of the presentinvention that barrier 110 be constructed from a polymeric material. Nonlimiting examples of polymeric materials which are suitable for forminga woven barrier 110 of the present invention include polyester,polyamid, polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, rayon, and polyamids.

In some instances, it may be desired to provide barrier with certainselected chemicals, for example, herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers,plant foods, and the like, which diffuse into the soil over time. Thebarrier may also be provided with a water insoluable inorganic coppercompound in an amount effective to stop root growth as disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,575,112, issued Nov. 19, 1996 to Scheubel, hereinincorporated by reference.

The reinforcement member 104 of the present invention, may be made ofany suitable material that will provide the necessary reinforcement tobarrier 110. Of course, the amount of reinforcement necessary willdepend upon the inherent properties of barrier 110, and the applicationto which soil brace 100 is being applied.

As with barrier 110, reinforcement member 104 should comprise a materialsuitable to withstand long term exposure to soils and resist rotting,rusting and/or degradation. Where soil brace 100 is to be utilized inagricultural or garden settings, it should also be adequately resistantto exposure to chemicals which are normally found in such agriculturaland garden settings, such as fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides,plant foods, and the like.

Reinforcement member 104 may be formed from a suitable metal, polymericmaterial, treated wood, composite material, or ceramic as desired.Preferably, reinforcement member 104 comprises metal or polymericmaterial. More preferably, reinforcement member 104 comprises galvanizedwire or a durable plastic.

In the embodiment of brace 100 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, reinforcementmember 104 comprises a first grid member 104A and a second grid member104B between which is sandwiched barrier 110. It should be noted thatreinforcement member 104 may comprise to join together first grid member104A and second grid member 104B as shown in FIG. 1, or it may comprisetwo disjointed members first grid member 104A and second grid member104B. The grid sizes of reinforcement member 104 is generally selectedto provide a uniform reinforcing with grid openings in the range ofabout {fraction (1/16)} inches to about 2 inches, preferably in therange of about ⅛ inches to about 1 inches, and even more preferably inthe range of about ¼ inches to about ½ inches.

While in the embodiment of brace 100 as shown the grid of reinforcementmember is of a uniform rectangular shape, there is no requirement thatthe grid be so limited, as any other suitable grid shape may beutilized.

It should also be noted that while the embodiment of brace 100 is shownas having a first grid member 104A and a second grid member 104B betweenwhich is sandwiched barrier 110, it should be understood that any numberof grid members and barriers may be utilized, with any desiredarrangement of grid members and barriers utilized. As non-limitingexamples, one or more barriers in the interior may be sandwiched betweenone or more grid members on the outside, or barrier layers may beinterspersed between any number of grid members.

Methods of manufacturing such a reinforcement member 104 are well knownin the art and any suitable method which would result in thereinforcement member 104 as is described may be employed for thepractice of the present invention.

Barrier 110 and reinforcement member 104 are assembled by any suitabletechnique to form soil brace 100. The most simple assembly techniquewould include sandwiching barrier 110 between reinforcement member 104and suitably interlocking the edges of one-half of reinforcement member104 with the other half of reinforcement member 104, for example bytwisting or otherwise interlocking the edges together. Another suitabletechnique would include sandwiching barrier 110 between reinforcementmembers 104A and 104B, and affixing barrier 110 to reinforcement member104, for example through the use of stitching, fusing, threading,anchoring, gluing, or adhering.

In the practice of the present invention, reinforcement member 104 andbarrier 110 may be assembled into soil brace 100 by any suitabletechnique known to those skilled in the art, including, but not limitedto chemical thermal, or mechanical (including sonic and needle punchtechniques) bonding methods wherein the soil brace 100 formed therebyallows for the ready penetration of water but prevents penetration ofplants and roots through soil brace 100.

Soil brace 100 of the present invention is believed to be long lasting,strong, and durable. The more preferred embodiment of soil brace 100comprising either galvanized wire mesh or durable plastic mesh willresist rotting, rusting or other degradation.

As barrier 110 and reinforcement member 104 allow for flow of waterthere through, soil brace 100 will allow the flow of water, nutrientsand fertilizers into and out of any garden beds made therefrom.Therefore, the added weight of water in the garden bed will not causeundue pressure against soil brace 100 used to make such bed, and aswater can escape out of the bed there is better soil drainage producinghealthier plants and less root suffocation, and/or rot.

Soil brace 100 may be made to any suitable standard commercial length,thickness and width depending upon the desires of the application byappropriate selection of the length, thickness and width of the barrierand reinforcement members. The materials of construction for bothreinforcement member 104 and barrier 110 are also generally selected sothat soil brace 100 may be easily cut by the end use gardener utilizingconventional tools without the need to utilize special expensive metalcutters. The materials of construction are also selected to allow foreasy cutting to decrease installation time. The materials ofconstruction for soil brace 100 are also preferably selected to providea soil brace 100 which is flexible and bendable thereby allowing the enduse landscaper to adapt the soil brace 100 to curvilinear as well asstraight lines without requiring any special fittings as are required bysome conventional products.

According to the present invention the materials with construction forsoil brace 100 are also preferably selected to provide a soil brace 100which is generally light weight to provide for ease of handling duringinstallation, and to provide for reductions in shipping costs.Preferably, the materials of construction for soil brace 100 and itsmethod of assembly are selected to provide a product that is relativelyaffordable to the end use landscaper.

The colors for soil brace 100 are generally selected to provide for asoil brace which is generally to obtrusive or noticeable therebyproducing a natural garden appearance. Non-limiting examples of suitablecolors include most shades of green, most shades of brown, and black.Preferably soil brace 100 is substantially the color of the soil whichit is bracing.

Applications for Soil Brace 100

Soil brace 100 finds utility in a wide variety of applications.

Support Soil

One envisioned application of soil brace 100 is to support soil, as forexample, at the edge of a garden bed or to support soil at the edge of aliner pond or stream, by vertical placement of soil brace 100 next tothe soil being supported.

Where additional support is needed for soil brace 100, support stakes,as a non-limiting example, 2″×2″ wooden stakes, may be placed atappropriate intervals on one or both sides of soil brace 100.

For elevated beds, the ability of water to freely flow through soilbrace 100, as opposed to conventional solid-type landscape edging, meansthat there is not the added weight of water in the bed to weigh againstthe brace, as would occur with the conventional edging. Use of soilbrace 100 will provide an environment for healthier plants with betterdrainage resulting in less root rot and suffocation.

The flexibility of soil brace 100 allows for the construction of a widevariety of regular and irregular geometric and other complicated shapesof ponds, streams and garden beds.

A garden bed may be constructed by simply placing anchoring one edge ofsoil brace 100 a suitable distance in the ground in the desired bedshape and then filling the created shape with the desired type of soilor garden mix. By eliminating the need to excavate the entire volume ofthe bed, bed building is easier, less laborious, less expensive, andprovide good drainage for a healthier plant environment.

Soil brace 100 should allow for the construction of narrow, elevatedgarden beds in areas where there ordinarily would not be enough space.

It is believed that soil brace 100 would provide for containment of soilwithin the configured garden bed to reduce spillage of soil and mulchonto driveways, walkways, pathways, patios, or onto grass, particularlyafter heavy rains. The garden thus remains neater, tidier, and cleaner.

Pond Construction

One embodiment of the pond construction method of the present inventionwill now be described by reference to FIG. 3.

There is shown in FIG. 3 pond 300 consisting of pond excavation 301 ofany desired shape having a pond edge or perimeter 302, soil brace 100 ofthe present invention, and pond retaining wall 305.

In the method of the present invention, pond excavation 301 is firstexcavated to the desired depth profile and shape. Next, around perimeter302 of pond excavation 301 soil brace 100 is vertically positioned andanchored in the soil as shown. In most instances, the top edge of soilbrace 100 is positioned in the range of about 2 to about 3 inches abovethe water and soil level. The anchoring is generally accomplished bypositioning part of soil brace 100 into the soil, although such bracingcan also be reinforced by cement in the soil and/or other mechanicalreinforcement. For example, 2″×2″ wooden stakes may be positioned oneeither or both sides of soil brace 100. The top portion of soil brace100 is generally allowed to extend above the water or soil level a fewinches as desired or even flush with the water level.

Once soil brace 100 is positioned around perimeter 302, pond liner 308is then positioned in pond excavation 301 and over soil brace 100 asshown in FIG. 3. Soil brace 100 may be provided with an exterior that isrough to both help anchor soil brace 100 in the ground, and to helpanchor pond liner 308 against soil brace 100. Such roughness may beprovided by an irregular surface having a desired surface roughness, orby providing projections on the surface.

Dirt 305 is then provided to bury both soil brace 100 and pond liner 308as shown. A multiplicity of rocks, stones or other material 311 mayoptionally be provided to give the edge of pond 300 a more realisticlook.

The perimeter 302 where pond liner 308 is exposed may be unfinished, ormay be finished by covering with plants, decorative stone or paving orcement collar.

Pond liners are well known in the art, and any suitable type of pondliner may be used in the practice of the present invention. Polyethylenehas been used as a pond liner material since the 1940s, but itsdisadvantages are that it is easily punctured, can stretch very thin,and is a difficult material to join. However, if polyethylene isutilized, a gauge in the range of about 1,000 to about 1,500 issuggested. While polyvinyl chloride liners are more expensive thanstandard polyethylene liners, they are much stronger. Such PVC linershave semi-elasticity and are more resistant to ultra violet damage,although PVC is longer lasting than polyethylene, still becomes brittlewith age and is difficult to prepare once it has lost it flexibility.Suitable thicknesses for PVC are generally in the range of about 0.5 toabout 0.75 mm. Twin laminate PVC reinforced with mesh is also availablefor use as a pond liner. The most preferred material for use as a pondliner is a butyl liner made from a synthetic liner, (isobutylene andisoprene). Butyl liners have excellent flexibility and elasticity and avery long life span.

Root blocking

Another envisioned application of soil brace 100 is vertical placementof soil brace 100 to restrict the horizontal growth or spread of weeds,plants and/or their roots. Such root blocking may be either to keepcertain plants in or to keep out certain plants.

For example, soil brace 100 may be placed around selected plants to keepthem within or out of a certain area. For example, soil brace 100 hasbeen utilized to keep the highly invasive canna lily within a gardenbed, to keep Liriope from advancing into a garden bed, and around rosebeds to block surrounding tree roots from growing into the rose bed andthereby decreasing the chance of losing soil nutrients to the treeroots.

As another example, soil brace 100 has been used to dwarf a tree byplacing it around the tree to restrict the reach of its roots andtherefore of its canape (and thus its size).

It is also believed that soil brace 100 may be utilized with seedlingsin nursuries. For example, to surround seedling plants to preventintermingling of the roots, or as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,313,herein incorporated by reference.

Alternatively, soil brace 100 may be utilized to prevent other plantroots from coming into certain areas, as for example, blocking treeroots from entering a rose garden, or perhaps keeping roots away fromplumbing or drainage pipes, sidewalks, or a structural foundation.

While the illustrative embodiments of the invention have been describedwith particularity, it will be understood that various othermodifications will be apparent to and can be readily made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the claimsappended hereto be limited to the examples and descriptions set forthherein but rather that the claims be construed as encompassing all thefeatures of patentable novelty which reside in the present invention,including all features which would be treated as equivalents thereof bythose skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.

I claim:
 1. A method of building a garden bed, the method comprising:(a) positioning a retaining apparatus to form a garden bed perimeterdefining the garden bed, wherein the retaining apparatus comprises (i) afirst reinforcing member, (ii) a second reinforcing member connected tothe first reinforcing member wherein at least one of said first andsecond reinforcing members is resistant to degradation and (iii) aliquid permeable member positioned between the first and secondreinforcing members; (a) anchoring a portion of the retaining apparatuswith soil; and (b) providing soil within the garden bed.
 2. The methodof claim 1 further comprising: (d) providing a support for the retainingapparatus.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and secondreinforcing members are each liquid permeable.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein the first and second reinforcing members each comprise a grid.5. The method of claim 4 wherein the first and second reinforcingmembers each comprise a metal or plastic.
 6. The method of claim 1wherein the liquid permeable member comprises a fabric.
 7. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the first and second reinforcing members each comprise ametal or plastic grid, and wherein the liquid permeable member comprisesa fabric.
 8. A method of building a garden bed, the method comprising:(a) positioning a retaining apparatus to form a garden bed perimeterdefining the garden bed, wherein the retaining apparatus comprises (i) afirst reinforcing member, (ii) a second reinforcing member connected tothe first reinforcing member and (iii) a liquid permeable memberpositioned between the first and second reinforcing members, whereinsaid liquid permeable member is resistant to degradation; (b) anchoringa portion of the retaining apparatus with soil; and (c) providing soilwithin the garden bed.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising: (d)providing a support for the retaining apparatus.
 10. The method of claim8 wherein the first and second reinforcing members are each liquidpermeable.
 11. The method of claim 8 wherein the first and secondreinforcing members each comprise a grid.
 12. The method of claim 11wherein the first and second reinforcing members each comprise a metalor plastic.
 13. The method of claim 8 wherein the liquid permeablemember comprises a fabric.
 14. The method of claim 8 wherein the firstand second reinforcing members each comprise a metal or plastic grid,and wherein the liquid permeable member comprises a fabric.